Failure

Failure

On a morning not unlike many other, nineteen men ventured out into the gloom for a little Monday morning workout named for its location but known for much more: DMZ.

The THANG

05:29 – Plank for the disclaimer and a short explanation of the workout

05:30 – Merkins to failure

Mosey to Carmel Middle School. Circle up in the lights for warm up of SSH x 45.

Mosey to back of CMS for People’s Chair. No clock. Stay seated as long as possible.  When you reach failure, run to the baseball fence and back.  Failure has costs – repeat on one leg.  I didn’t check the watch, but we did this until Love Boat and then finally Outback reached failure… or quit to allow the workout to move along.  Outback said he could stay there all day, and I didn’t want to test him while I was on one leg.

Mosey down the hill to the CMS track.  Partner up based on similar size / speed / fitness level.  Partners complete called exercise until one reaches failure.  Then run a lap.  Winner does LBCs while loser does 10 burpees.

Merkins
Flutter (backwards run)
Elbow plank
Mile run (Tardy – flying, well done) – or 3/4 of a mile for everyone else

Mosey back to Carmel park with an extended lunge walk up hill (who knew those speed bumps were that far apart) followed by AYG 1-minute sprint back to finish.

0615 – COT

Moleskine

I’m struggling here.  There was virtually no mumble chatter.  None.  It was eerily quiet, even during what seemed like People’s Chair forever – normally a Q-heckler’s wheel house.  While I’d like to relay funny stories to make this more readable, everyone put their heads down and just got it done today as we covered +/- 2.8 miles.  Hopefully the rambling words that follow form some semblance of a rational thought, and you are not all dumber for having read it.

Design of this workout was a result of F3 Connect (first plug).  If you haven’t, you should check it out. It is lunch and networking with F3 guys, currently being held at Peculiar Rabbit on Tuesdays. Check Twitter @F3Connect for the next one.

After hearing from Dredd and OBT at F3 Connect last week, I finally got around to reading their book, Freed to Lead (second plug:  http://www.amazon.com/Freed-Lead-Unshackling-Modern-day-Warrior/dp/0991238109/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406559013&sr=1-1&keywords=freed+to+lead).  It’s worth reading for several reasons, not the least of which is to get a bit of the history and mission, and if you hate it, you probably only wasted a couple hours.  Anyway, in the book, OBT tells a story about crew and how the third 500m segment of a 2km race is often the hardest.  I won’t do it justice, but the book draws parallels to the third quarter and that period of life often known as mid-life (roughly age 40-60) when a guy often needs to rely on the men around him.  For some reason, that struck a chord with me.

I wanted to design the workout today to include multiple failures (not just in my ability to Q, of which there were likely many) and show that we can go further together than we can alone.  That having someone alongside you – pushing, pulling, cajoling, and hopefully encouraging – you both go further.  Hopefully that was conveyed, if not accomplished.

I cut the mile race off at the end of the third lap because you just never know how much time you have (taking this allegory to its logical ending, Tardy will live to 80 or possibly forever).  It’s true though, and it was made more evident in COT.  Please remember Chelms’ brother, and his family, in your prayers as he is dealing with brain cancer.

Thanks to Skywalker (get well soon, brother!  It gets quiet out there without you.) for the opportunity to lead today.  It was an honor, gentlemen.

Kirk